One Last Thing
by Arileo
Summary: Oneshot. After all is said and done, there's still one thing left to do. Post AC, mild spoilers, implied CloTi


A little somethingthat popped into my head after watchingAdvent Children for the 6th time... This one's a oneshot, but I might do some sequels if people like it.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Final Fantasy 7 or any of the characters, it was hard enough just getting a copy of the AC DVD...

* * *

**One Last Thing**

Tifa stood at the bar washing dishes. It was hard to believe that she'd been in the same position a little over 72 hours ago, when that phone call came. They'd saved the world yet again, and it hadn't even taken two days. A bit of a relief, considering how long their last adventure had taken. She kept waiting for the other shoe to drop.

But so far, everything seemed fine. Geostigma was gone, Sephiroth was gone, and Cloud… was not.

It was so nice to see her old comrades again. She hadn't realized just how far they'd all split apart until everyone had come back together to fight Bahumat-sin, until Denzel had asked her who all these people were. Tifa silently vowed not to let that happen again.

Finishing the last of the dishes, the fighter stretched her tired muscles. For all the fighting she'd done in the past two days, it was the partying afterwards that had really done her in. After Meteor, there'd been neither the time nor the desire to celebrate. Everyone had been to busy trying to rebuild, to cherish the loved ones still alive, and mourn for the ones that weren't. So Yuffie had come up with the brilliant idea to commemorate their new victory _and _the old one simultaneously. And that the Turks should be invited.

Tifa chuckled to herself as she remembered the look on poor Cloud's face as heducked behind her to try and hide from Barret when the big man found out (from Reno) that Marlene had been kidnapped.

The party seemed to go on forever before they'd all had enough. Cid and Nanaki had escorted a very plastered Wutai princess to the inn down the street a few hours ago; Rude had left with Reno (still mumbling Junon drinking songs all the while) thrown over his shoulder shortly after that. Vincent had disappeared as he always did, but not before making sure he had everyone's phone numbers written down. Reeve had been convinced to leave Cait Sith there for the night by Marlene. Barret was snoring on the couch in the basement. Now Tifa was the only one left awake.

On her way up to bed, Tifa had to stop to check Cloud's room. It seemed silly, but she just had to reassure herself that what had happened that day was real. As she tiptoed over to the bed, a warm feeling washed over her at the sight.

Cloud was leaning against the headboard fast asleep, Marlene curled up on one side and Denzel on the other, with Cait powered down and tucked under Marlene's arm. Neither child had wanted to let the blond man out of their sight, afraid he might disappear again. And Tifa couldn't blame them. Even now she had to reach out to touch one of his blond spikes, to make certain he was really there.

Cloud did not stir as Tifa stroked his hair, a testament to how tired he must have been. She had seen him literally sleep with his eyes open before. Saying Cloud Strife could be a little paranoid was like saying Marlboros could a little smelly.

Yuffie had spent much of the night trying to pry all the 'details' of their relationship, but there weren't any. After living together for two years, Tifa could count on one hand the amount of times she and Cloud had been in any form of embrace without one of them being unconscious or not entirely lucid. She hadn't even really kissed him. There'd been a few times when she'd managed a quick peck on the cheek, but never on the lips, and never had Cloud been the one to kiss her. But now, it seemed as though that might change.

Tifa grabbed a quilt from the foot of the bed and spread it over the three sleepers, wishing she had a camera to capture the peaceful moment. She watched them for a few more minutes before finally going to her own room.

With no one left awake, there was no one to see Cloud twitch in his sleep, no one to see a small worried expression cross his face, no one to see him mouth a single name belonging to someone dead.

* * *

"Don't you _dare_."

It was early in the morning, still pitch black out, when something had awoken Tifa from her sleep.

What she'd found made her blood boil.

Cloud sat on the stairs leading from the bedrooms to the bar, tugging his boots on, a large bundle at his side.

"Tifa…" he whispered. "This isn't what it looks like."

"What is it then?" she hissed back.

The blond man stood up and walked to the door.

"Tifa. There's something I have to do. I'm not leaving. I promise."

"And it couldn't wait? You have to sneak out in the middle of the night?"

"I didn't want you to worry."

"Cloud…" Tifa grabbed his arm, leaning her head against his shoulder, "How can you say that to me, when all I ever do is worry about you?"

He turned around, just a little, but would not meet her eyes.

"There's something I have to do. Just one last thing before it can really be over."

Tifa felt herself go cold at his words. It wasn't over? How? They'd defeated Sephiroth, the clones, the summon, the stigma… what else was left?

"Don't worry," Cloud turned around fully, hesitating a moment before putting his hands on her shoulders. "It's nothing to worry about. I'm not even going very far. I'll be back, I promise."

"When?"

"Soon."

"How soon?"

"Soon enough that you'll have breakfast ready?" He asked with a tentative smirk.

Tifa laughed softly. "Enough with the housewife jokes. Yuffie and Reno are bad enough. Don't you start."

For a moment, neither of them said anything. Then, Cloud did something truly surprising. He leaned forward and gave Tifa a quick kiss on the cheek. It felt more like a feather across her skin, and was over before she even realized he'd moved, but it was still a kiss.

"It's nothing to worry about. I'll be back, I promise." Cloud said again.

He was out the door and on his bike before Tifa could bring herself to move. She touched her fingers to where his lips had touched, shocked at the sudden display of affection.

Maybe, things were finally going to start moving forward.

* * *

True to his word, Cloud did not have very far to go.

It took him just long enough to reach his destination for him to think about a few things.

He thought about the things Sephiroth had said, about how he'd destroy whatever Cloud cherished, and found himself wondering just what Sephiroth had cherished. Not the Sephiroth he'd fought yesterday, or in the Northern Crater, not the Sephiroth that had existed in his head, but the old Sephiroth.

Zack had always said it wasn't really him anymore, that the General had died that night in the old Shinra mansion. Cloud, not wanting to admit that his hero was a monster, had believed him.

He wondered now if it were true. After all this time, his memory still wasn't very trustworthy, but he could almost remember meeting the man just one time before Nibelheim.

Cloud could vaguely recall Zack dragging him somewhere, and then the General showing up. Cloud had ducked around the corner in fear and embaressment, hoping he hadn't been seen. The two SOLDIERs had talked casually while he watched them.

"_And the one hiding behind you is…?" The General asked as calmly as he'd ask for a weather report._

_Zack laughed, and yanked the skinny, fifteen-year-old Cloud from his hiding place._

"_This here's Cloud, my new baby bro! I told you about him before Seph, didn't I?"_

_Cloud went beet red, hearing himself described so, and to Sephiroth no less._

"_I seem to remember something about it."_

_Zack threw one arm around Cloud's shoulders. "Chicobo here may not look like much, but he's got one hell of a way with bikes, riding and reparin'em. He's even better then I am!"_

"_Zack. I hate to be the one to tell you this, but a drunken cave mog with one arm could drive a motorcycle better than you." The silver-haired man was half smirking the whole time._

"_Bah, I haven't crashed that many…have I?"_

_Then, Sephiroth turned to Cloud. "If you are as good a friend as Zack claims, you have my condolences."_

"_S-sir?"_

"_In my experience, being friends with this one usually leads to nothing but trouble."_

"_Love you too Seph," Zack grinned, flipping the other man off._

Cloud hadn't really _thought_ about it, but if that memory was true, then it meant his skill and obsession with motorcycles might truly have been his own, and not something from Zack. It was nice to know that at least something about him hadn't been stolen.

He parked Fenrir outside of the church. Getting off, he grabbed only one blade, and the bundle he'd taken from Seventh Heaven. The waters from the holy spring still flowed everywhere, but that was not where he was going.

A small sound caught his attention. Cloud listened carefully, Mako-enhanced hearing keen to pick up on the direction it was coming from, pin pointing its origin.

There were pieces of the old Shinra building everywhere. Huge chunks of concrete and steel lay where they'd fallen, mostly from his battle with Sephiroth. It was amazing how much destruction two men armed with swords could cause.

Finally, Cloud stopped before a random seeming pile of rubble, crouching down to look underneath.

In the shadows of an overhanging piece of wreckage, a pair of green cat's eyes looked back.

The bigger of the two remaining Sephiroth clones had somehow squeezed himself into the small bit of shelter offered by the rubble; his eyes were red-rimmed and damp. The second clone was limp in his arms, face hidden by long silver hair, with an old curtain as a makeshift blanket.

"Nii-san…"

"Have you been hiding here the whole night?" Cloud asked, "That can't be very comfortable."

"Are you here to kill us, Nii-san?" the clone said, voice thick with tears.

"No. I'm not going to hurt you."

"Kadaj is gone…" he whispered.

"I know, I'm sorry."

"Kaa-san didn't care. She was supposed to take care of us. She was supposed to make everything alright. But she didn't, she let Kadaj die."

"It's alright," Cloud whispered reassuringly, "Don't cry."

"I'm _not_ crying," the clone snapped.

Cloud smirked at that. "C'mon, you can't stay there forever." He reached out for the two clones.

"Where else can we go?"

"You can come with me."

"Both of us? Together?"

"Yes, together."

The clone stared at him in confusion. "Nii-san…"

"It'll be okay. Trust me."

The second clone stirred for a moment, curled closer to his brother, "Loz…s'cold…" he whispered.

"Shh…Go back to sleep," the clone clutched his brother tightly.

Cloud grabbed the bundle he'd brought with him from the bar, unrolling two blankets. He offered the first to the two clones. The bigger one, Loz, hesitated for a moment before wrapping it around the limp form in his lap. Gently, Cloud took the smaller clone into his arms, then reached for the other one's hand.

As Loz stood up slowly, Cloud hid his wonder.

Aerith's message, that night as he slept, had told him what to expect, but it was still surprising to see.

She had said they were getting a second chance, to start from scratch. She wasn't kidding. Standing upright, Loz barely reached Cloud's waist. The child he held close against his shoulder was even smaller. He motioned for the boy to take the other blanket.

"Are you ready?"

"We're alone." Loz said.

"No you're not," Cloud replied, "You have me."

The seven-year-old looked up at Cloud wide eyed. He really couldn't seem to believe that anyone would care about them, even a man they considered family.

Cloud carefully adjusted his hold on the injured boy. A tiny hand came up and gripped his shirt weakly.

"Nii-san…?" he murmured softly.

"I'm here, little brother."

Making sure the child in his arms was comfortable, Cloud started off for his bike, the other silver-haired boy trailing behind him.

"Will it really be okay?" he asked.

Cloud smiled down at the boy, and then looked up at the sun as it rose over the ruins of Midgar.

"Yeah. Everything's going to be okay now."

_Owari_

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So, love it? hate it? 


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